Motorcycles are designed with a transmission and a foot engaging mechanism that is disposed on one side, usually the left side, of the motorcycle. The foot engaging mechanism is part of the transmission or is coupled through a pivoting arrangement to a rod which, in turn, is connected to the transmission to move the gears up for acceleration and down for deceleration. Prior art motorcycles include a foot rest in the form of a foot peg, a foot plate or floor board upon which the sole of an operator's boot or the shoe of an operator's left foot rests during travel. At least one shift lever, peg or pedal is associated with and generally located forwardly of the foot rest, the shift peg or pedal being engageable by the toe of the foot for shifting. Some motorcycles also include a second shift lever, peg or pedal located generally rearwardly of the foot rest and engageable with the heel of the foot.
As is well known, to accelerate the motorcycle, the boot or shoe is positioned under the shift lever, and with the foot resting upon the foot rest, the toe is moved upwardly each time an upward shift is desired by forcing the shift peg or pedal upwardly and moving the shift rod accordingly. To decelerate or come to a stop, the left foot must be disengaged from the foot rest so that the operator's sole is placed on top of the shift peg or pedal at which position the motorcycle may be shifted downwardly by applying an appropriate downward force and then braking as desired. For motorcycles having a shift lever, peg or pedal at the rear of the foot rest, the boot or shoe is manipulated so that the heel will push down on the rearward shift peg or pedal if upshifting is desired.
In recent years, it is become a desired practice among motorcycle enthusiasts to convert stock motorcycle transmission arrangements to forward shift controls in which an operator may have his or her legs extended forwardly, upwardly and outwardly in a rest position with his or her feet supported on highway pegs or other foot rests, and still have the ability to shift the gears of the motorcycle transmission without having to relocate the shifting foot. A properly installed forward shift control must provide some measure of adjustability so as to be usable according to the operator's individual leg length and preferred riding position during extended travel. However, such conversion arrangements generally require modification of the basic motorcycle control system such that the original shifting hardware must be removed before the forward shift controls may be added.
Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 6,394,214 issued May 28, 2002 discloses a motorcycle shifting arrangement connected to the transmission of a motorcycle to shift the transmission between higher and lower gears. The shifting arrangement includes an original shift pedal pivotally mounted on an original pivot shaft coupled to the transmission at a location adjacent a foot rest attached to the bottom portion of the motorcycle. A primary shift lever is pivotally connected to the original pivot shaft. A secondary shift lever is pivotally connected to a supporting structure of the motorcycle. A secondary shift lever includes a foot pedal and a highway peg upon which a motorcycle operator rests his or her foot with his or her legs in an extended, raised position relative to the foot rest. A connecting linkage has one end pivotally connected to the primary shift lever and another end pivotally connected to the secondary shift lever. With this construction, the motorcycle operator, with his or her foot resting upon the highway peg, engages the foot pedal with his or her toe to shift to a higher gear, and engages the original shift pedal with his or her heel to shift to a lower gear. The primary shift lever, the secondary shift lever and the connecting linkage are installed on the motorcycle without modification of the original shift pedal and the original pivot shaft.
While the shifting arrangement in the above described '214 patent has operated in a generally satisfactory manner, the shifting using the primary shift lever or the secondary shift lever may require moving the toe of the operator's footwear in an upward motion which can be awkward. In the case of the other prior art shifting arrangement having a foot shifting member at the rear of the foot rest, an operator may have to move his/her footwear rearwardly before downwardly engaging the foot shifting member with his/her heel which is inconvenient.
Accordingly it is desirable to provide an improved forward shift control which allows for a more comfortable and natural shifting motion of the motorcycle from the original foot rest as well as from a raised foot peg or other foot engaging member.